23-9 (Raptors wrap-up solid 2-2 week out west)
10 things I saw from Raptors-Nuggets (Dec. 16) – The Defeated
Engaged: Delon Wright got the start with both Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet sidelined, and he responded by playing with more energy than any of his teammates. Wright also showed a sheer determination for getting to the rim that is too often lacking. He’ll earn more minutes and a bigger role if he could play with this type of hustle every night.
“Tonight was a very severe case of a guy who was playing great, taking it to the rim and just getting absolutely held, grabbed, poked, slapped, hit and everything. And they refused to call any of it. It’s unbelievable to me. Unbelievable to me. It’s ridiculous. The guy is one of the best players in the league and he doesn’t complain, he doesn’t do this, he doesn’t do that, and they just turn their head and go the other way. It’s been going on all year.”
It should be no surprise that Sunday presented an extreme case. Not only were the Raptors missing VanVleet and Siakam, but they were also without Kyle Lowry, Jonas Valanciunas and Norman Powell because of thigh, finger and shoulder injuries, respectively. At the best of times, Leonard’s space can get crowded when he holds onto the ball. On Sunday, missing three of their top playmakers, their best post scorer and two of their best perimeter shooters, the Nuggets had the greenest of lights to cheat off of Leonard.
How much validity you think Nurse’s claims have depends on your perspective. Before Sunday, Leonard was averaging 7.1 free throw attempts per 36 minutes, the second-most of his career. His free-throw rate was also the second highest of his career. Both trailed only his numbers in 2016-17, his last full season, when he was third in MVP voting.
“It’s been like that all year,” said Leonard, who had 29 points, 14 rebounds and four assists. “But in this era, with how the game is and how) the rules are today, I feel like I agree with Nurse. It was very physical but I just go with the next play. It could only get me ready for what’s to come. I just pride myself on keeping moving and keeping going.
“I’m playing the game so I’m not really digging in deep and seeing if (the whistle) was very tough tonight. (Nurse) is watching, being the coach, and seeing what guys are doing. But just some of my drives or coming off pick-and-rolls a lot or even just going to the basket, there’s a lot of hand grabs and bodying, which the rules say you ain’t supposed to do this year. But I take pride in just trying to think I can play in any era, so I’m just going out there playing.”
The Raptors were irate about the officiating in general on Sunday, and they certainly could have received more help. In particular, they were not happy about the technical fouls handed out to Danny Green and Serge Ibaka.
They had their chances to win the game, though, and the biggest problem was a common refrain: C.J. Miles and OG Anunoby just cannot hit open shots reliably. On most nights, Nurse can go to other options and sit them. On Sunday, he could not, and the bricks killed the Raptors.
Overall, the Raptors made just 7-of-35 3-pointers. Miles and Anunoby were the beneficiaries of 17 of those looks, and they canned only four. Miles is at 31 percent from deep for the year, and Anunoby just 30.
Nuggets defeat Raptors for third-straight win | Mile High Sports
That deficit would not last long though as Toronto went on a 12-3 run to give them a 70-57 lead with just under four minutes remaining in the period. The game of runs would only continue as Denver followed with a 11-2 run to close the quarter and ultimately cut their deficit to 72-68 heading into the final 12 minutes. Denver’s latest run was sparked by Jokic, who had 22 points, seven rebounds, and three assists after three quarters of play.
After trailing by double-digits most of the third quarter, the Nuggets run to close the period allowed them to get within striking distance going into the fourth. Denver’s run would grow even larger as they began the fourth on a 7-0 run, which was capped off by a three-pointer from Murray to give the Nuggets a 75-72 lead with 9:50 left in the game. Another three by Murray just a few possessions later gave Denver an eight point lead as the Nuggets run grew to 23-2 and 12-0 to start the fourth quarter.
All the momentum Denver built up to begin the fourth only continued as the quarter wore on as the Nuggets still led 84-77 with 5:30 remaining in the game. That lead would get all the way up to nine points before a quick Raptors spurt cut the Nuggets lead down to three with 3:28 left in the game. Denver would continue to battle though as a Jokic floater gave the Nuggets a 92-85 lead with just under two minutes remaining in the game. A couple defensive stops and a few trips to the free-throw line was all the Nuggets needed as they found a way to pick up a 95-86 victory over Toronto.
Stat leaders for the Nuggets were Jokic, who had a sold night finishing with 26 points, nine rebounds, and four assists. Jokic did all that on an efficient 11-of-19 shooting from the field, while also chipping in two steals on the defensive end of the floor. Murray also had a big night for Denver with 19 points, while Craig and Monte Morris also added in 13 and 12 points respectively.
The Nuggets now have a day off tomorrow before they are back in action Tuesday night at home to face the Dallas Mavericks.
Nuggets’ second-half rally leads Denver to win over East-leading Toronto Raptors – The Denver Post
The best team in the Eastern Conference came to the Pepsi Center severely hampered without four-time all-star Kyle Lowry, most improved front-runner Pascal Siakam and invaluable backup guard Fred VanVleet. Not that the Nuggets and their thin bench had much sympathy.
“My message to our team a little while ago was ‘I don’t care who’s playing for them,’” Malone said prior to the game. “I think what happens, when you start focusing on who’s out, you’re worried about the wrong things. We have a job to do. … Teams look at us right now with players out, I think they think maybe they can just show up and beat us. I think we’ve shown teams, no, that’s not the case. We have more than enough players that are going to go out there and battle and compete.”
Malone didn’t want to put a specific timeline on it, but small forward Will Barton, who underwent surgery to repair hip and core muscles Oct. 23, is getting closer to returning. Tuesday will mark eight weeks since his surgery.
“So, if it’s in the next week to 10 days, it’d be great to have him back,” Malone said. “He’s such a versatile part of what we do and I know. The hardest thing for guys like Will, for Isaiah (Thomas) is not being able to play. Those guys are gym rats. They’re junkies.”
Jokic paced the Nuggets with 10 points in what was an otherwise disjointed first two quarters. They managed just 35 percent from the field while the Raptors held a 47-39 lead. From Torrey Craig to Mason Plumlee, the Nuggets tried plenty of different looks on Leonard, who had 10 points and six boards in the first half. The deficit might have been larger had Toronto not turned it over nine times.
Recap: Denver Nuggets outlast Toronto Raptors in a defensive battle, win 95-86. – Denver Stiffs
Denver kept pushing to open the fourth quarter while the Raptors missed on some golden opportunities. Murray had finally come to life and after he hit a three to cap a 7-0 run to start the quarter the Nuggets finally regained the lead. The Raptors had gone absolutely ice cold from the floor. Some of that was Denver’s defense and some of it was just incredibly bad luck. Murray was heating up on the Nuggets side, he hit a nice mid-range fade away and then buried a three to get Pepsi Center on their feet as the Nuggets lead grew to eight. Kawhi shook free for a dunk around the 7:45 mark to finally get Toronto a bucket in the quarter. Denver’s defense got a bit lax and they gave up some open looks from the perimeter but they were keeping the Raptors at arm’s length. They weren’t able to put Toronto away though. Murray had cooled off and missed a couple shots which gave Toronto another opportunity to close back in with the quarter going into the final three minutes. They pulled within five and it was clear the game was going to come down to half court execution. Toronto naturally worked the ball to Kawhi and the Nuggets chose to double and even triple team him. The strategy paid off when O.G. Anunoby missed a wide open corner three and Jokic knocked down a floater at the other end to put Denver back up by seven. The Nuggets still had trouble getting that nail in the coffin but time was rapidly running out for the Raptors. With 50 seconds left Joker got an offensive rebound and a put back which finally was enough to put Toronto away. Denver gets a huge win 95-86
Nuggets Beat Raptors, Extend Win Streak to 3 | Denver Nuggets
Nikola Jokic, once again, led the way for the Nuggets, scoring 26 points on 11-19 shooting to go along with nine rebounds and four assists in 35 minutes. After struggling early, missing seven of his first eight, Murray found his shooting stroke late. He connected on six of his last nine and scored 14 of his 19 in the fourth. Torrey Craig continued his hot shooting. Following a career-high 15-point performance in Friday’s night win against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the 6-foot-7, 215-pounder put up 13 points, knocking down three 3-pointers.
“He’s doing what he’s supposed to do,” Malone said of Jokic. “He’s our franchise player. We’re committed to him. We believe in him. He’s the future of this team. Whether we have guys out or we have a full roster, we expect a lot from Nikola.”
Reserve point guard Monte Morris added 12 points, four assists and four rebounds off the bench and Mason Plumlee put up 10 points and seven rebounds to help Denver improve to 20-9 on the season.
“We knew had the whole fourth quarter left,” Murray said of his mind state when his team was down double-digits. “That’s a lot of playing time left and that’s not a lot of points.”
Leonard was nothing short of brilliant for the Raptors (23-9), putting up a double-double with 29 points and 13 rebounds. Raptors point guard Delon Wright contributed with 15 points and big man Serge Ibaka added 14 points and seven rebounds before fouling out with 1:37 left.
With 21, the Nuggets dished out eight more assists than the Raptors and committed three fewer turnovers (9) than their opposition.
Raptors’ role players struggle to support Kawhi in loss to Nuggets – Sportsnet.ca
More vital than some help from the refs, Leonard could have used some help from his teammates.
The Raptors started the fourth quarter leading 72-68 and simply stopped scoring. The Nuggets grew increasingly aggressive, throwing more bodies at Leonard. He made the right play in pitching the ball to open teammates, the problem is no one could deliver the next play.
The Nuggets got exactly that as they exploded for a 23-2 run. Nikola Jokic scored 26 points on 19 shots while Canadian Jamal Murray caught fire in the fourth, scoring 15 of his 19 in the final period.
Toronto shot 1-of-13 from three in the fourth quarter with C.J. Miles missing all four of his wide-open looks and OG Anunoby going 1-of-5 on his. The pair have been struggling mightily from behind the arc all season and came into the game shooting 34 and 31 per cent, respectively, on ‘open’ or ‘wide-open’ threes, per NBA.com and those totals got worse as the game went on.
“In our fourth quarter we missed a lot of open shots,” said Leonard. “That’s when we have to hang our hats on defence and making the other team miss. It was just one of those nights.”
The Raptors did just that, which makes the loss more frustrating. Toronto held the Nuggets to 42.4 per cent shooting and won the rebounding battle 51-44, with Leonard leading the way there with 14 boards as he keeps adding to his career-high totals in that category.
There are no excuses – and it should be pointed out that the Nuggets were without two starters in Paul Millsap and Gary Harris and have played without key reserve Will Barton all year – but based on effort, the Raptors deserved better, at least in their coach’s mind.
“We played our butts off. We outplayed them. We outplayed them. No question,” said Nurse. “Tonight was a very severe case of a guy who was playing great, taking it to the rim and just getting absolutely held, grabbed, poked, slapped, hit and everything. And they refused to call any of it. It’s unbelievable to me. Unbelievable to me. It’s ridiculous. The guy is one of the best players in the league and he doesn’t complain, he doesn’t do this, he doesn’t do that, and they just turn their head and go the other way. It’s been going on all year.”
Nurse may be taking a little license there as he strived to get his money’s worth on his fine. Leonard came into the game averaging 6.9 free-throw attempts a game which is 10th in the NBA. He averages .367 free-throw attempts for every shot he takes which is 18th, but not far behind the likes of Kevin Durant (15th) or LeBron James (14th).
But on this night, four three throws seemed low, even if the refs seemed happy to swallow the whistle all evening as both teams shot just 30 free throws combined with the Raptors putting up 14 and the Nuggets 16.
Game Recap: Raptors limp home, lose to Nuggets 95-86 – Raptors HQ
Unfortunately, we had to learn first-hand why there’s a reason Kawhi Leonard is considered one of the best players on the planet, because once he sat, the lead shrank to just four in less than two minutes time. So, onto the fourth quarter, up by four points!
You really hate to put an entire game on one player, because thousands of things happen that can change or alter the end outcome, but this game really felt like it could’ve been Toronto’s if they only had someone other than Lorenzo Brown to turn to at the end of the third/beginning of the fourth quarter.
Again, this isn’t on him — it’s not his fault we had injuries to the starting and top backup point guards, nor was it his fault Miles or Anunoby couldn’t hit an open three to save their lives.
By the time the Raptors scored their first points of the fourth, the final frame was almost half over and they were still down just six points. But with the way the game had been going and the way it had been played, you knew that points weren’t easy nor would they be easy to come by — especially in the final six minutes of a road game taking place in a city that’s five-thousand, three-hundred feet in the air.
The chances either team would hit 100 points in this game were close to nil, with the Nuggets 18-points away with fewer than six minutes remaining. So when Jamal Murray nailed a three to put the Nuggets ahead nine points with just over four minutes remaining — the grave felt all but covered.
The final pat of dirt on the casket came when Ibaka fouled out — along with a concurrent technical foul — with under two minutes remaining. Let’s leave this one where we found it folks. It was uneventful for long stretches; on average it was hard to watch, and at its best it was hopeful.
Kawhi led all Raptors with 29 points and 14 rebounds and was the sole bright spot on the evening.
Raptors go ice cold in fourth quarter and lose to Nuggets | Toronto Sun
Leonard was asked if Sunday’s game was any worse than what he has experienced this year.
“I’m playing the game so I’m not really digging in deep and seeing if it was very tough tonight,” Leonard said. “(Nurse) is watching being the coach and seeing what guys are doing. But just some of my drives or coming off pick and rolls a lot or even just going to the basket there’s a lot of hand grabs and bodying which the rules say you ain’t supposed to do this year. But I take pride in just trying to think I can play in any era so I’m just going out there playing.”
It probably didn’t help matters that most of the hounding of Leonard and clutching and grabbing was committed by Torrey Craig, a second-year player that has not been around long enough to get the benefit of calls.
But the Raptors could not blame all of this loss on the officials.
There was the 7-for-35 performance from behind the arc that played into this one in a big way as well.
C.J. Miles and OG Anunoby, two guys who the Raptors need to be solid from behind the arc were a combined 4-for-17 from distance. Throw in Leonard’s own 1-for-6 from behind the three-point line and Danny Green’s 1-for-4 and that is your four biggest threats in the long distance game going a combined 6-for-27 or 22.2% which is not a winning formula on any night.
A stretch from around the end of the third quarter going into the fourth, where the Raptors didn’t score a single point, also didn’t help matters.
With the loss the Raptors finish up the road trip an even 2-2 with a league-leading mark of 23-9.
Finding perfect fit for Kawhi Leonard remains work in progress for Raptors | The Star [paywall]
Thirty-one games into an 82-game season — especially for a team that took a league-best 23-8 record into Sunday’s game in Denver — gives no cause to think there are any serious issues at play.
The Raptors have shown they can play and win at a fast pace, and they’ve shown they can play and win in a halfcourt game when Leonard’s skills and physical dominance are most useful.
All they need to work on is perhaps finding a better mix so that the switch from one to the other doesn’t catch any player unawares.
“We have to keep playing and flow and when it breaks down, get the ball to (Leonard) and still give him his touches,” Lowry said. “I don’t think it’s a situation where he hasn’t but he’s that talented where we’ve let him do a lot more offensively because he can do it. But as team we have to help him (and) be a little more assertive all around him, and make the game easier for him.”
Regardless of how “fast” the Raptors play or don’t play, there is no denying that Leonard’s unique talents make them better, and anyone who suggests otherwise hasn’t been fully paying attention.
Need a guy to get a bucket at a crucial moment? Leonard’s going to get the ball and everyone connected with team is fine with that. The other times? Each game presents its own unique challenges and, so far, the Raptors have accepted and met those challenges.
“His job is to make plays and score the ball as well,” Green said. “We are going to need that sometimes, most times. Especially when you are not shooting well or getting good pace or good ball movement you need to have a guy to give the ball to and say ‘Hey, get me a bucket.’
“He gives us that. It’s always an advantage. It’s never a bad thing. The game is a lot easier with him.”
Hitting a wall: It all went sideways for the Raptors toward the end of the third quarter. Leonard and Wright sat as altitude in the Mile High City started to take effect. The sluggish Raptors couldn’t get their offence going and the Nuggets took their first lead since the second quarter, as Toronto went 0-for-11 from the field until a dunk by Leonard more than six minutes after the team’s previous basket and Denver never looked back.
Four takeaways from the Toronto Raptors nine-point loss to the Denver Nuggets | NBA.com
A fourth quarter to forget
With 3:53 remaining in the third quarter, the Raptors held a 70-57 lead over the Nuggets. Denver proceeded to go on an 11-2 run to close the quarter, but Toronto maintained a four-point lead heading into the fourth.
Things went downhill in the fourth quarter as the Nuggets opened on a 12-0 run to take an eight-point lead and never really looked back.
Denver outscored Toronto 27-14 in the final 12 minutes of the game – Nuggets guard Jamal Murray scored 15 points (on 6-for-8 shooting) to outscore the Raptors on his own.
It was a rough shooting quarter for Toronto, as it went 4-for-23 from the field and 1-for-13 from deep. Kawhi Leonard (2-for-4) was the only player to shoot above 40 percent from the field while OG Anunoby struggled, shooting 1-for-7 from the field and 1-for-5 from beyond the arc.
The Nuggets, on the other hand, finished the final frame shooting 11-for-18 from the field and knocked down two of their seven 3-point attempts. Toronto saw plenty of quality looks in the fourth quarter, but an inability to convert is what ultimately led to the team’s downfall.
If there was any time Nick Nurse missed having three of his five players that close the game, it was down the stretch Sunday night.
Raptors swingman C.J. Miles is looking for meaning in smallest of moments – The Athletic [paywall]
This has been the push-pull for Miles as he has tried to find his rhythm. He is a shooter, so the idea is to shoot yourself out of a slump. It is fine to tinker with your shot selection if your 3-pointers are not falling, but it is never a good idea to get away from your strengths. When are you trying too hard, though? He is not an irrational confidence guy; again, he is a rationalist. Miles thinks about these things.
“Some of it is just me getting in my own way because you try to find that line when you’re in a slump,” Miles said. “You don’t want to overdo it. But at the same time, you want to let it come to you some and I got to a point where I was pressing, pressing, pressing. Then, I tried to back off and I backed off too far and missed some opportunities. Now, I just think I’m easing my way back into it. Sometimes you can’t run through the wall. You have to look for the weak spots.
“It’s just about finding (rhythm) and it’s on me too, to find some nights when I can consistently put some stuff together, and (that is how) my minutes will stay the same way. There’s a balance with both of them. Then, there might be nights where I’m playing OK, but Kawhi might be playing better. That is the problem when you have 14 guys playing extremely well. There are going to be nights where you are playing well and the guys before you have been playing good, too, and you have to get them back in the game. But I’ve seen everything. I have been here long enough.”
Averaging 14 minutes per game, Miles has not played less than this since his third season in the league. Even with injuries, the Raptors are one of the deepest teams in the league, especially on the perimeter. He has played double-digit minutes in each game in December, though, so it is not as if he has been buried on the bench. He has received chances, if not ones long enough to settle in.
Against the Trail Blazers, Miles found those moments: a 3-pointer in transition, a shot from his sweet spot in the corner and, early on, a dunk for his first bucket of the night.
“The dunk helped, obviously,” Miles said. “Seeing an easy one go down.”
Not everyone was a fan of Miles’ easy-peasy two-handed jam, though. Miles’ wife, Lauren, who supports and roasts her husband in equal measure on Twitter, criticized the dunk. Miles used to be a high-flyer. What happened?
In short, Miles had the kind of night he desperately needed. That it came in a loss was really irrelevant.
“He’s really been a shell of himself and that looked like him tonight,” head coach Nick Nurse said of Miles after the 128-122 loss to the Blazers. “He’s kind of inched his way back. I hate to say this but he hit a three late in a blowout game, I think in L.A. and that was kind of the start, played pretty good against Golden State as well, made a couple late in that blowout game and then he came in tonight and hit some good ones. Really got us back in the game there.”
It was Miles and Leonard, playing in his first game after a two-game absence, that led the charge late in the fourth whittling down an 11-point deficit with four to go to just two before the Blazers re-asserted themselves and pulled away.
But if this is the game that ultimately gets Miles back to being the three-point threat he was a year ago, then the loss will not have come in vain.
Miles’ situation was aptly summed up in the second quarter when he got a steal off a Nik Stauskas bad pass and had a clear halfcourt run to the basket without a Trail Blazer within 30 feet of him.
The running dunk he finished with will not make the highlights. He barely got off the floor, just high enough to nudge it into the cylinder. His own wife, one of the better Twitter follows out there, tweeted out “Weak dunk, bro.”
Miles laughed at the gentle rebuke from the mother of his child and the love of his life.
“What? She wanted more of?” Miles asked smiling. “It’s not the going up, it’s the coming down. But I’m not wasting my juice on that. Plus I wanted to make sure it went in, honestly. I’m not going to lie.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikxq7CjJxFM
There is no doubt Miles hasn’t been effective often this season, shooting just 31.3 per cent from three-point range — he’s a career 36 per cent shooter from beyond the arc in 14 NBA seasons — but there have been extenuating circumstances. He hasn’t played fewer minutes per game (14.3) since the 2007-08 season; he’s only getting 3.3 three-point attempts on average per game, the fewest since the 2008-09 campaign; and he’s working his way with a new group of backups than the ones he was used to playing with last season.
Those aren’t excuses, just explanations.
“The players I play with have been different every time because I have been in and out. It’s just about finding (opportunities) and it’s on me too, to find some nights where I can consistently put some stuff together and then the more my minutes will stay the same way,” he said.
“There’s a balance with both of them. Then there might be nights where I’m playing OK, but Kawhi (Leonard) might be playing better. That is the problem when you have 14 guys playing extremely well.
“There are going to be nights where you are playing well and the guys before you have been playing good too and you have to get them back in the game. But I’ve seen everything. I have been here long enough.”
There have been signs of late that Miles and his teammate are is starting to figure things out, and he’s having a greater impact on the game.
In Friday’s loss in Portland, he had a season-high 10 field-goal attempts. He made as many three-pointers (three) as he has in any game this season and played 19:38, the second-longest run he’s had in a game this season.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BreLyKEg_5W/
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